Thanks for all the information and advice.  I am familiar with luan, which
is widely used for cheap doors and interior trim.  I have not encountered
"Baltic birch," but do know birch as a hardwood plywood used in furniture
and cabinetry.  I guess I had not looked closely enough at the original to
realize it was only 3 mm.  My eye is poorly calibrated.

Thanks again, mcneely

On Tue, Aug 1, 2017 at 7:22 PM, Karl <tdiguru@westyventures.com> wrote:

> The original is 1/8" approximately, and fits in a channel. Birch cabinet
> grade is not that expensive and quality + strength matters, at least when I
> build something. For a sliding panel I's probably use 3/16 or 1/4. Masonite
> would probably be fine in either project but warps more in my experience.
>
>
>
> On 8/1/2017 6:32 PM, David McNeely wrote:
>
>> Why would you use such a thin plywood?  Isn't the original thicker?  And
>> if painting, why use birch?  Why not a less expensive product?  The reason
>> I ask is that I am looking at putting a sliding access door on the bed side
>> of the rear "closet."  Someone else has even recommended using masonite for
>> that application.  If there is a good reason to go with birch, such as to
>> be less likely to dent than say pine, I can understand that.  But 1/8" is
>> awfully thin to my mind.
>>
>